Bloks protects from power cuts and stores solar energy

Bloks keeps operations running during blackouts and stores locally generated solar energy for later use.

Power outages have been a major challenge for Bloks, a company operating in the energy- and equipment-intensive ice cube manufacturing business. With the help of a Cactos battery energy storage system, that’s no longer a problem.

Summary

Customer: Bloks Oy
Industry: Ice cube manufacturing
Installed solution: 1 x Cactos Cardo (45 kW/130 kWh)

Benefits of Cactos

Protection against power outages

Ability to store solar energy for later use

New revenue from ancillary service markets

Bloks – Finland’s leading ice cube manufacturer

Bloks Oy is Finland’s leading ice cube producer. Over the past 11 years, the ice cube factory in Halikko has grown into the nation’s first industrial-scale manufacturer, supplying its ice-cold products to Finland’s largest retail chains and restaurant wholesalers.

The challenge: power outages

Ice cube production relies heavily on electricity to extract heat from tap water. For this energy-intensive business, power outages pose significant challenges.

During outages, inventory must be moved quickly, but the bigger issue lies in production. Even a second-long outage shuts down machinery. While some equipment restarts automatically, conveyors, for instance, need to be manually rebooted.

“There’s always loads of ice cubes on the factory floor in those situations,” says Bloks CEO Arto Manninen.

No more interruptions in production

Tired of battling power outages, Bloks decided to safeguard its operations with a battery energy storage system. Supporting Finnish work is important to the company, so choosing a domestic provider like Cactos weighed heavily in their decision.

The Cactos battery energy storage system acts as an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), ensuring production doesn’t get interrupted during blackouts. The ice cube factory no longer has to worry about outages disrupting operations.

The results

In addition to providing backup power, the Cactos system helps Bloks maximize the use of its solar panels. During the day, solar energy is stored, and at night, it powers the factory’s operations. Shifting consumption to off-peak hours could enable the factory to switch from a fixed electricity contract to a market-based one in the future.

On top of that, the daily earnings from the ancillary service markets are conveniently displayed in the Cactos Spine app.

“Looking at that always puts a smile on your face,” Manninen grins.

Power outages are a thing of the past

No more ice cube floods on the factory floor.

Own solar energy to full use

Maximized use of self-generated solar energy.

Earnings by supporting the grid

A new revenue stream through ancillary service markets.

"If I had to rate Cactos’ product and service satisfaction from zero to ten, there’s nothing to complain about—it’s a solid ten."

Arto Manninen, CEO, Bloks Oy

Let’s power your future together

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